New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Friday targeted the AAP-led Punjab government over the rising incidents of stubble burning, demanding accountability as the national capital’s air quality deteriorated to 382 in the ‘very poor’ category, nearing the ‘severe’ threshold.
In a post on X, Sirsa shared a satellite image showing instances of farm fires across Punjab and accused the state government of making political excuses instead of addressing the issue.
“These satellite-detected stubble fires demand accountability, not political excuses by AAP-led Punjab government’s Environment Minister and CM Bhagwant Mann,” he wrote.
The remarks came as Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) deteriorated from 369 on Thursday to 382 on Friday, with 26 of the city’s 58 monitoring stations recording severe air quality.
The air quality is forecast to remain in the severe category from November 7 to November 9, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi. Diwali-related firecracker emissions, vehicular pollution and the ongoing stubble-burning season are expected to add to the pollution burden.
Satellite data showed that 837 farm-fire incidents were detected across six states on Thursday, including 414 in Punjab, 216 in Madhya Pradesh, 64 in Uttar Pradesh, 19 in Rajasthan, 18 in Haryana and nine in Uttarakhand.
A total of 5,637 farm-fire incidents have been detected across these states between September 15 and November 5, with Punjab accounting for 2,787 cases.
Friday’s data is yet to be uploaded.
According to the Decision Support System (DSS) for Delhi, stubble burning contributed 13 per cent to the capital’s pollution on Friday, while the transport sector was the largest contributor at 17.9 per cent.
An AQI between 301 and 400 is classified as very poor, while readings above 400 fall in the severe category. PTI AHD AHD NB
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